Cy, short for Cyclopes, a kitten born with only one eye and no nose, is shown in this photo provided by its owner in Redmond, Oregon, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. The kitten, a ragdoll breed, which died after living for one day, was one of two in the litter. Its sibling was born normal and healthy. (AP Photo/Traci Allen)

Analysis: Though the image above was greeted with some skepticism when it first began circulating online in Jan. 2006, Associated Press regional photo editor Tom Stathis says he took "extensive steps" to authenticate it before publishing, including an examination the memory card of the digital camera with which the photo was taken. Stathis concluded it would have been "virtually impossible" to fabricate.

The photo of the one-day-old kitten, named Cy (short for "Cylops"), was one of several snapped by its owner, Traci Allen of Redmond, Oregon, before Cy succumbed to a rare medical condition called holoprosencephaly, which causes facial deformities. Cy's corpse is now stored in her freezer, Allen told AP, in case scientists want to use it for medical research.

Update #1:Cyclopean Second Thoughts - Was I too quick to hush the skeptics questioning the authenticity of AP's one-eyed kitten photo? Some readers think so...

Update #2:Vet Confirms One-Eyed Kitten Was Real - Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher reports that a veterinarian examined the frozen corpse of Cy, the one-eyed kitten last month and determined it was not a hoax...